dtstratovarius (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} dtstratovarius) wrote,@ 2008-09-13 06:57:00 |
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Week 1 at Bloomington
Hey all,
Well, injury report: A few nice punctures into yours truly. Tom and I removed the top of this encased pallet to get the Car-Fi new kiosk fixture we were going to temporarily install. I put the pallet top to the side. Eric inadvertently with a LONG box of towelbars for pegs, and the staple-exposed side of the pallet-top comes crashing down....right on my back, and the back of my left arm, with my left arm probably getting the worst of the bunch. Unfortunately, trying to find a band-aid in the store was impossible. So, that was fun. Since then, I finally got some Neosporin Plus, Band-Aids, and peroxide, and the redness of the 4 things has gone down (the 3 on the back still look a bit red compared to the arm puncture, but I'm not in pain from any of them, as I've been peroxiding/Neosporin'ing the wounds since then. It DID suck though.
Work itself: Needless to say, things have gotten frustrating. Tom absolutely BLEW UP yesterday morning after another 12+ hour shift. He snapped about the poor time management, and well, John yanked Joe and myself to ride with the others, as he and Tom rode home to have a talk. Oh boy. However, most of us were DEAD tired after a 9pm to 11am on Wed/Thurs, and a 9pm to 10am on Thurs/Fri. Sheesh.
However, it's been a relatively easy week for Tom and I so far. Because this was a "trench" store that was opened a few weeks before my old home at the Brentwood store, all of the coax cable runs we needed was ALREADY at the locations we needed, and everything WORKED! YAY! As for network/Cat5 cable, everything but the 4 new ones we had to drop in home theater, and 4 more for the new kiosks in media. Finally, the UBER-short run we have temped to the Sales Development Room (the Comm. Room is across the hall from the SDR). Pretty much just waiting for the electricians to get their conduit piping and the power poles. The other downside to things...first we disassembled the EV sound system thinking we're going to get a new Bose system, BUT....now we have to reuse the EV system. Dammit. So, Tom and I have to rewire all of that next week now (after the contractors rehang the subwoofers and 4-way speaker ring).
Beyond that, not much is going on...Josh/Mike are rooming together, and have gotten in trouble twice so far, about their language at work (and it's just getting worse w/them). *shakes head* Doesn't help that they're the two guys on the team that look for every shortcut they can find to do a job. Sounds like Mike's actively looking for a different job, after missing out on a position at the Crestwood store, so he's not long for the team. Newbie Skye seriously misconstrued what Mike explained to him at the interview, as he was thinking that he would be getting $35/day in addition to his pay EVERYDAY of work, not on the out-of-"area" worktrips. So, he hasn't shown up, and most of us aren't expecting him back (as he had his aunt's funeral to go to in Chicago, and was supposed to be here Wednesday or Thursday, but no showed. He claims that driving here would be TOO far for him to drive. Um...Chicago is FARTHER from Troy than Bloomington, IN is. So, seriously, he's not long for the team either. So far, Joe's been pretty cool, as it's been his first week with us, but I've known Joe for awhile from his days at two other locations.
So far, biggest negative of the trip (other than being punctured) has been the super-AWFUL smelling and tasting water here in Bloomington. Even flavor packets of Crystal Light can't help it. The water is worse than Warrensburg, MO's and Columbia, MO's COMBINED. I think I can even taste the moss from the reservior's water.
Meanwhile, downloaded a few demos for games, since I have my XBOX 360 and a wired internet connection here. So, here's some thoughts:
---"Battlefield: Bad Company" - Frank bought this and told me about this game. The reviews were pretty solid for this, and honestly, they were right. The demo was high-octane impact with some downright funny lines from two of your squadmates. Phil LaMarr was good as your squad's Sgt. Redford. However, Frank suggests I buy the Gold Edition like he did, and I just might. I don't know yet. Still gotta play Mercenaries 2 more.
---"Conan" - I've eyed this since it came out, because its reviews were fairly consistent across the board with 8.0s. Pretty nice hack'n'slash game with LOTS of brutality. I might pick this one up as it's super-cheap at the Brentwood store right now (as they're doing 30% off of clearance games).
---"Star Wars: the Force Unleashed" - This went from a wait-and-see game to a potential, "I might get this game this Tuesday" game. I downloaded the demo, and played it and WOW! The force powers are awesome (flinging rebels and stormtroopers is a FUN thing, especially using one to bowl everyone else. Watching 'em land is fun too, especially when they contort. :) The mini-boss (endboss of the demo) is a Scout Walker with Tie Fighters flying around (as you're killing off rebels AND Imperials, because your master, Vader, doesn't want ANYONE to know of your existence, including the Emperor). VERY FUN GAME!
---"Ace Combat 6" - a fave series of John F.'s, but WOW does it get the treatment on the XBOX 360. Watching a city burn in flames and explosions below me while I'm dogfighting for my life is awesome. :) I would love to get this and the flight stick pack, BUT that's like $150. YIKES! :) This game could easily convince John to buy an XBOX 360 (since the Arcades are now $199, and you can find 20gb hard drives on clearance now). :)
---"Assault Heroes" - An XBOX Live Arcade game, that I've heard nothing but good things about. I'd compare the game to a merging of the old NES game, "Jackal" meets "Commando," meets the control scheme of the old SNES game "Smash TV" FUN!
---"Assault Heroes 2" - the XBOX Live Game that got me intrigued after G4TV's "X-Play" program went behind the scenes w/the developers. Definitely tops the first one, and is another I'd get XBL Points for. :)
---"Bionic Commando: Rearmed" - an XBOX Live Arcade game that's a graphical/gameplay update of the original NES game. So far, it's one of those XBOX Live Arcade games I actually might go get some points cards to get.
---"Castle Crashers" - Another XBOX Live Arcade game, that's a cute little side-scrolling brawl/hack'n'slasher that's FUN. Boss John told me about this one, followed by Frank. The demo is hilariously funny.
---"Burnout Paradise" - Sequel to a game series I do really enjoy, even if they took out the crash mode. Graphically this game is amazing especially after I destroyed my car hitting the center post of an interstate. This game is budget priced (for XBOX 360 games) at $30 new now. Tempting, but I might wait to see if I come across it cheaper.
---"Eternal Sonata" - The rare RPG that I'll try, but I'm curious about because of the cadre of LA voice actors in it, plus the fact that it's classical music based on Frederic Chopin in his final days. So far, pretty interesting cast and game.
---"Facebreaker" - EA's "replacement" for Fight Night is a nice touch to the old Midway "Ready 2 Rumble Boxing" games of the past. The demo's fun, but this is a definite, "wait 'til it's $20 or less" game.
---"Iron Man" - The reviews were pretty consistent (in the 5s and 6s) here, as a repetitive 3rd person shooter, and it is that. Takes awhile to get used to the flight controls, but it's a decent mindless fun time.
---"Clive Barker's Jericho" - I've had my eye on this game for awhile, waiting for it to drop in price. It is a squad-based FPS, but I was really curious about it. Played it, and it is interesting, but it's one I'll probably pass on anyway.
--"Kane & Lynch: Dead Men" - a game I've been wondering about since it's release, as it got mixed reviews, plus it's on clearance at Target right now. Interesting 3rd person shooter/squad game, that has an intriguing multiplayer mode. So far, I might wait 'til this goes to 10-15 bucks at Target maybe.
---"Madden NFL '09" - Okay, I do love the Madden IQ test at the beginning. That's a nice touch, even if I suck at passing and defense. I didn't like that I only could do the Giants/Pats Super Bowl last -minute run scenario, and just couldn't play a basic 1 on 1 Pats/Giants game.
---Medal of Honor Airborne" - Another game that Frank suggested to me that he owns, is a decent game, even if it takes me a bit of time to get used to. If this drops below $20, this is a maybe.
---"NHL 2k9" - If you've played one, you've played 'em all.
---"NHL '09" - Plays WAY differently than 2k9, and graphically looks a slight bit better. Just don't like the new-style two stick controls.
---"Too Human" - Very intriguing 3rd person actioner that John didn't let me borrow the full-version of this weekend. The demo is intriguing, but the suckness was that you couldn't skip the cutscenes. I might wait for this one to pop up on XBOX's Retail Vendor Accommodations site, and not drop the $50-60 on it now.
More later,
Matt
Hey all,
Well, injury report: A few nice punctures into yours truly. Tom and I removed the top of this encased pallet to get the Car-Fi new kiosk fixture we were going to temporarily install. I put the pallet top to the side. Eric inadvertently with a LONG box of towelbars for pegs, and the staple-exposed side of the pallet-top comes crashing down....right on my back, and the back of my left arm, with my left arm probably getting the worst of the bunch. Unfortunately, trying to find a band-aid in the store was impossible. So, that was fun. Since then, I finally got some Neosporin Plus, Band-Aids, and peroxide, and the redness of the 4 things has gone down (the 3 on the back still look a bit red compared to the arm puncture, but I'm not in pain from any of them, as I've been peroxiding/Neosporin'ing the wounds since then. It DID suck though.
Work itself: Needless to say, things have gotten frustrating. Tom absolutely BLEW UP yesterday morning after another 12+ hour shift. He snapped about the poor time management, and well, John yanked Joe and myself to ride with the others, as he and Tom rode home to have a talk. Oh boy. However, most of us were DEAD tired after a 9pm to 11am on Wed/Thurs, and a 9pm to 10am on Thurs/Fri. Sheesh.
However, it's been a relatively easy week for Tom and I so far. Because this was a "trench" store that was opened a few weeks before my old home at the Brentwood store, all of the coax cable runs we needed was ALREADY at the locations we needed, and everything WORKED! YAY! As for network/Cat5 cable, everything but the 4 new ones we had to drop in home theater, and 4 more for the new kiosks in media. Finally, the UBER-short run we have temped to the Sales Development Room (the Comm. Room is across the hall from the SDR). Pretty much just waiting for the electricians to get their conduit piping and the power poles. The other downside to things...first we disassembled the EV sound system thinking we're going to get a new Bose system, BUT....now we have to reuse the EV system. Dammit. So, Tom and I have to rewire all of that next week now (after the contractors rehang the subwoofers and 4-way speaker ring).
Beyond that, not much is going on...Josh/Mike are rooming together, and have gotten in trouble twice so far, about their language at work (and it's just getting worse w/them). *shakes head* Doesn't help that they're the two guys on the team that look for every shortcut they can find to do a job. Sounds like Mike's actively looking for a different job, after missing out on a position at the Crestwood store, so he's not long for the team. Newbie Skye seriously misconstrued what Mike explained to him at the interview, as he was thinking that he would be getting $35/day in addition to his pay EVERYDAY of work, not on the out-of-"area" worktrips. So, he hasn't shown up, and most of us aren't expecting him back (as he had his aunt's funeral to go to in Chicago, and was supposed to be here Wednesday or Thursday, but no showed. He claims that driving here would be TOO far for him to drive. Um...Chicago is FARTHER from Troy than Bloomington, IN is. So, seriously, he's not long for the team either. So far, Joe's been pretty cool, as it's been his first week with us, but I've known Joe for awhile from his days at two other locations.
So far, biggest negative of the trip (other than being punctured) has been the super-AWFUL smelling and tasting water here in Bloomington. Even flavor packets of Crystal Light can't help it. The water is worse than Warrensburg, MO's and Columbia, MO's COMBINED. I think I can even taste the moss from the reservior's water.
Meanwhile, downloaded a few demos for games, since I have my XBOX 360 and a wired internet connection here. So, here's some thoughts:
---"Battlefield: Bad Company" - Frank bought this and told me about this game. The reviews were pretty solid for this, and honestly, they were right. The demo was high-octane impact with some downright funny lines from two of your squadmates. Phil LaMarr was good as your squad's Sgt. Redford. However, Frank suggests I buy the Gold Edition like he did, and I just might. I don't know yet. Still gotta play Mercenaries 2 more.
---"Conan" - I've eyed this since it came out, because its reviews were fairly consistent across the board with 8.0s. Pretty nice hack'n'slash game with LOTS of brutality. I might pick this one up as it's super-cheap at the Brentwood store right now (as they're doing 30% off of clearance games).
---"Star Wars: the Force Unleashed" - This went from a wait-and-see game to a potential, "I might get this game this Tuesday" game. I downloaded the demo, and played it and WOW! The force powers are awesome (flinging rebels and stormtroopers is a FUN thing, especially using one to bowl everyone else. Watching 'em land is fun too, especially when they contort. :) The mini-boss (endboss of the demo) is a Scout Walker with Tie Fighters flying around (as you're killing off rebels AND Imperials, because your master, Vader, doesn't want ANYONE to know of your existence, including the Emperor). VERY FUN GAME!
---"Ace Combat 6" - a fave series of John F.'s, but WOW does it get the treatment on the XBOX 360. Watching a city burn in flames and explosions below me while I'm dogfighting for my life is awesome. :) I would love to get this and the flight stick pack, BUT that's like $150. YIKES! :) This game could easily convince John to buy an XBOX 360 (since the Arcades are now $199, and you can find 20gb hard drives on clearance now). :)
---"Assault Heroes" - An XBOX Live Arcade game, that I've heard nothing but good things about. I'd compare the game to a merging of the old NES game, "Jackal" meets "Commando," meets the control scheme of the old SNES game "Smash TV" FUN!
---"Assault Heroes 2" - the XBOX Live Game that got me intrigued after G4TV's "X-Play" program went behind the scenes w/the developers. Definitely tops the first one, and is another I'd get XBL Points for. :)
---"Bionic Commando: Rearmed" - an XBOX Live Arcade game that's a graphical/gameplay update of the original NES game. So far, it's one of those XBOX Live Arcade games I actually might go get some points cards to get.
---"Castle Crashers" - Another XBOX Live Arcade game, that's a cute little side-scrolling brawl/hack'n'slasher that's FUN. Boss John told me about this one, followed by Frank. The demo is hilariously funny.
---"Burnout Paradise" - Sequel to a game series I do really enjoy, even if they took out the crash mode. Graphically this game is amazing especially after I destroyed my car hitting the center post of an interstate. This game is budget priced (for XBOX 360 games) at $30 new now. Tempting, but I might wait to see if I come across it cheaper.
---"Eternal Sonata" - The rare RPG that I'll try, but I'm curious about because of the cadre of LA voice actors in it, plus the fact that it's classical music based on Frederic Chopin in his final days. So far, pretty interesting cast and game.
---"Facebreaker" - EA's "replacement" for Fight Night is a nice touch to the old Midway "Ready 2 Rumble Boxing" games of the past. The demo's fun, but this is a definite, "wait 'til it's $20 or less" game.
---"Iron Man" - The reviews were pretty consistent (in the 5s and 6s) here, as a repetitive 3rd person shooter, and it is that. Takes awhile to get used to the flight controls, but it's a decent mindless fun time.
---"Clive Barker's Jericho" - I've had my eye on this game for awhile, waiting for it to drop in price. It is a squad-based FPS, but I was really curious about it. Played it, and it is interesting, but it's one I'll probably pass on anyway.
--"Kane & Lynch: Dead Men" - a game I've been wondering about since it's release, as it got mixed reviews, plus it's on clearance at Target right now. Interesting 3rd person shooter/squad game, that has an intriguing multiplayer mode. So far, I might wait 'til this goes to 10-15 bucks at Target maybe.
---"Madden NFL '09" - Okay, I do love the Madden IQ test at the beginning. That's a nice touch, even if I suck at passing and defense. I didn't like that I only could do the Giants/Pats Super Bowl last -minute run scenario, and just couldn't play a basic 1 on 1 Pats/Giants game.
---Medal of Honor Airborne" - Another game that Frank suggested to me that he owns, is a decent game, even if it takes me a bit of time to get used to. If this drops below $20, this is a maybe.
---"NHL 2k9" - If you've played one, you've played 'em all.
---"NHL '09" - Plays WAY differently than 2k9, and graphically looks a slight bit better. Just don't like the new-style two stick controls.
---"Too Human" - Very intriguing 3rd person actioner that John didn't let me borrow the full-version of this weekend. The demo is intriguing, but the suckness was that you couldn't skip the cutscenes. I might wait for this one to pop up on XBOX's Retail Vendor Accommodations site, and not drop the $50-60 on it now.
More later,
Matt
